Only 89 people backed strike

A row broke out today over a threatened strike by London Underground workers amid allegations that only a small percentage of union members had voted for industrial action.

Services on five lines are set to be hit on March 12 by a 24-hour walkout by members of the Rail Maritime and Transport union, in support of maintenance workers who were sacked after the discovery of empty beer cans in a mess room.

Metronet, the private firm which sacked the men, said today that it had received voting figures of the union ballot which showed that 121 workers voted out of a possible 445.

Of those who voted, 89 backed industrial action, with 32 against.A Metronet spokesman said: "This means that just 20% of all the people entitled to vote have voted for industrial action.

"We now face the prospect of disruption to a key London service because of the actions of a small number of individuals and because some workers have flouted basic safety rules."

Bob Crow, general secretary of the RMT said: "There has been a ballot and everybody had an opportunity to vote. In the RMT members abide by the democratic outcome of the ballot."

Last-ditch talks are due to be held next week in a bid to avert the strike, which will hit services on the Circle and District, Metropolitan, Hammersmith and City and East London lines, which are used by more than a million people every day.